"Clef, I think some of the folks here would take exception to my posting product images..."

Ok, I guess I can wait for the marketing geniuses. Of course, who would we rather hear it from than you?

That was pretty bold, James; with some nice sleuthing from Deffie.

My mouth is watering...

Deffie, no comment.

Jeff, I don't know about genius but - with the exception of materials produced by Kawai America or Kawai Australia - anything you read, see, or hear about the new MPs will most likely have my name on it somewhere.

I actually posted a picture (of a picture) of the one of the new MPs last week - I guess no one spotted it?

Cheers,
James
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James. You're SUCH a tease!

oeps, James - don't underestimate the computer-savy users here ;-)

By the way the choice of my words about resolution was no coincident.

Apparently the MP6 and MP10 were already spotted momentarily in April of this year....

http://www.musiker-board.de/digitalpianos-keys/387607-neue-kawai-mp6-mp10-stagepianos.html

The offending store now suppresses their appearance on the site under the header "manufacturer restricted"...

People probably couldn't be bothered to wade through all those windy posts. Do you mean this one?

http://img834.imageshack.us/img834/8627/13082010002.jpg

This leaves a number of questions:

1) What happened to the MP6 and the MP9?

2) Are other ranges being updated?
eg: Previous CN line had three models, current only 2
Current ES has keyboard from previous CN line

Well , one step at a time Vectistim - I think Kawai will need all their attention introducing the new stages in a successful way, but who know's their good at multitasking too.

Bit off topic, but James are you using a Hackintosh ?! Is see an IBM with OSX running PhotoShop. Perhaps that's quite common in Japan, but I still haven't seen it over here much (actually not even once).

Too keep it on topic, I'll add - Kawai MPx...yeh..great machine, I wonder who's hands were allowed to touch it first. At least it's a man in suit, so it MUST be a concert pianist ;-)

I have a suit too, thank's for the compliment




btw, it wasn't me

"Manufacturer restriction" is just their slightly odd English translation for the pull-down menu that lets you filter the product list by brand, i.e. it's what you select to restrict the search results to a particular manufacturer, hence "manufacturer restriction".

theJourney, check out the mouse mat
There's a story behind that, but I don't want to bore you...

Vectism, I'm afraid I cannot talk about products that have yet to be released. However, as you might expect, new models are constantly being developed, so there's always something to look forward to.

JCB, that's just a Windows XP box running an OS X theme and dock (the right sided window buttons are a dead give away). However, both my Dell laptop and Mini9 netbook (handy little Pianoteq test machine) are running OS X.

By the way, the pianist in that shot is also wearing limited edition Kawai cuff-links. They're not terribly visible in the shot, but I wanted the chap to really get 'in the mood' - this is a grown-up instrument for serious pianists.

Cheers,
James
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There have been times sitting at my MP4 when I just couldn't get 'in the mood'. Something was missing, but what?

Now I know...

Oh and whilst Kawai are in the upgrading mood... James, what about putting a nice cover on the otherwise-very-good user manuals? Or even just 'a cover'. Rather than a plain cover-sheet using the same grade of paper as the rest of the booklet...

...I guess you'd have done this already if you could. I suppose only the marketing department get a budget for anything beyond 70gsm photocopier paper...

Thank you for the compliment, however I wasn't involved in the creation of the previous MP owner's manual. I agree though - there's definitely an uber-basic Unix manual approach to their layout and content.

The CA93/CA63 owner's manual (which I was responsible for) saw the introduction of an updated layout style, and you'll be pleased to hear that we did indeed use a heavier, slightly glossy paper stock for the cover. Again, it's all about the little details.

The next MP brochure is printed on the same paper stock used for all Kawai digital piano brochures. Although I expect this is becoming less relevant as most folks will probably read the brochure as a PDF before seeing the printed version at dealers' stores.

Cheers,
James
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Well I won't upgrade my MP4 solely for the improved paper stock of the new manual, but I'll add it to my list of flimsy pretexts for needing an urgently expedited upgrade once new models are in the store...

Wow! I'm getting real excited for what is coming in the new MP line!

Steady, young Man! Steady!

I like to keep my expectations very low, whether it be a date, an upcoming football season, or a stage piano (now known as slabs). That way, I am always temper any possible (and often probable) disappointment to come.

It would have been fun to be a fly on the wall at Kawai international headquarters when they discussed possible names for their new stage pianos.

-------------------------------

"Hey, Rodg, what do you think about calling it the "MP6"? I hate to interrupt, but I just thought I would toss it out there."

-----room goes into a murmur of discussion---

"You know what, I kind of like it. "MP6" grows on you. What do you guys think?"

"I like it too, JT. Much better than the "Arbitromaster 9500PX-Turbo Key Slab 4" that Pete brought up. Simpler. Well-rounded. The name, well... give me a moment, I'm getting choked up... just kind of completes me."

"Me too. Let's go with it, Guys! Let's do it! No looking back!!! None!"

---applause----
------------------------------------------------

Ok. Maybe it didn't happen that way. James would probably know the true story, but is under an embargo in regard to the internal operations of Kawai.

Well it's beyond me why they skipped the MP5ii, the MP5iib, the MP5iib v2.0. Heck, they've used MP8 already, and memo to Kawai, there ain't that many integers between 5 and 8, so you guys make sure you get a real kick out of it when your MP7 comes along 'cos y'all gonna have to have a real big think after that...

They can't use MP7 for a DP model name because everyone would think that it's a 76 key version of the old MP8.

What does "MP" stand for anyway? 'P' I imagine is for "piano" but the 'M' has me stumped. Musical? Multi? Muppet? Meh?

...and the conversation takes a dangerous turn...

dewster - you're kidding right? Everyone knows it stands for 'Mellifluous Piano'...

...right, I'm off to play my MP4 (it's like the MP8, but only half as many keys...)

Haha, you guys are entertaining.

I'm off to play my MP8II.

It's a tough job, but somebody has to counter all the positive KAWAI vibes around here.

Oh come on dewster, when it comes to countering the positive Kawai vibes you'll only ever be an Imperial Stormtrooper sidekick to Kawai James' Darth Vader. He may work for Kawai, but his opinions are his own...

I guess 'Master Piano'; to counter the term that was mostly used so far: 'Master Keyboard'. That implies those little pesky automatic accompaniment , one finger does all machines like the Casio- , or low range Roland/Korg/Yamaha 'keyboards'.

I think Master Piano is a better description of what it actually is. Therefore I also like the term Stage Piano, which should be just that: an easy portable piano for on stage without 'Master' functionality. That's the Nord Piano, or one of the P- series Yamaha's. So, in short I would say products like MP series, RD series and Privia PX3 are Master Piano's and the old 'silent' Roland A-series and Peavey / Oberheim / Yamaha KX series we're real Master Controllers. Current Novation, AKAI, M-Audio etc are Computer Controllers. And then you've got workstations (Motif, Kurzweil etc) and more categories. But of course there's always some grey field where the lines cannot be drawn so precisely.

JFP, you're spot on: MP stands for 'Master Piano'.

Here's a little history from one of my colleagues:



I too like the sound of 'Master Piano' - especially when pronounced with a British accent: 'Mahstah Piahno'...very regal - Maam would approve!

James
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James, I hope this is the accent you inflict on your Japanese friends, please tell me it is. All ex-pat Brits have an obligation to speak like...oh, I don't know...Leslie Phillips or Terry-Thomas. Or even Stephen Fry. Otherwise, 'at in't roight buh!

Cheers,

Steve

Absolutely Steve - I speak the Queen's English at all times!



You mean [i]Norwich City FC board member[/quote] Stephen Fry, of course?



Narfuk 'n gud buh!

Cheers,
James
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